Doerner loses by armbar

The Minot mixed martial artist withstood a barrage of punches to the ribs through much of the first four minutes of the co-main event of Magic City Mayhem 2 on Saturday at Maysa Arena.

Patricia Vidonic, the No. 24 ranked female at 115 pounds, proved more technical on the mat and locked in a tight armbar to force Doerner (3-2) to tap out at 4 minutes, 55 seconds of the first round.

“Thought I could get out of it, I was getting out of it and then I felt it really tight and I was, like, ‘I better tap,’ ” Doerner said. “I wish I would have know there was, like, five seconds, but she had it pretty good. That five seconds might not have been a good idea to wait out.”

The fight was one of the more action-packed of the nine bouts despite not making it out of the first round. Vidonic, of Billings, Mont., had Doerner against the cage within the first 15 seconds and quickly earned a takedown.

Doerner was able to control one of Vidonic’s legs for about two minutes, but Vidonic (8-5) was relentless with body shots and landed a couple forearms to the face.

“I was just working,” said Vidonic, who lost her last fight to then-world No. 1 Jessica Aguilar. “Honestly, I don’t have a game plan when I go in to fight. I go in and work because it comes so naturally to me. I got her on the takedown and just worked. I had fun.”

Vidonic moved from the top position late in the round as she gained control of Doerner’s wrist. Doerner escaped the first armbar attempt and brought the crowd of about 300 to its feet as she momentarily took the top position.

“She gave me an armbar and then I’m not worried about anybody being in my guard either because I can do the same damage from my back as I can on top of her,” Vidonic said. “It didn’t go any different from what I expected – a first-round finish.”

Vidonic then worked back into her own armbar, where she used her legs to prevent upward movement from Doerner’s head and torso and wrenched the extended arm.

The fighters almost immediately exchanged thoughts after the stoppage.

“I said ‘It was an awesome opportunity to fight you,’ ” Doerner said. “She said, ‘OK, I take that personally and you fought hard, just need more experience.’ “

Vidonic invited Doerner to train with her in Billings.

“The only way that she’s gonna get better is by stepping up against more experienced opponents such as myself because that’s the only way I’ve been able to get better,” Vidonic said.

Bismarck’s Charles Cheeks III, a former University of Mary football player, won by TKO over Scott Brown at 2:17 of the first round. Cheeks (5-2) earned a quick takedown and broke Brown’s guard to rain blows from the side-mount position.

South Dakota’s Danny White won the main event by rear-naked choke in the first round.